Steve Angeli is back in the middle of Syracuse’s offense, and that alone has changed the feel around Orange training camp.
After missing eight games with a torn Achilles, the quarterback is once again taking full reps as Syracuse works through camp in Central New York. The Orange are trying to bounce back from a 3-9 season in 2025, and despite being picked 14th in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll, there’s a different kind of buzz this August. A big reason for that is Angeli.
Angeli transferred to Syracuse from Notre Dame before the 2025 season and entered camp with a starting job to win. The battle with former Orange quarterback Rickie Collins ended with Angeli taking the lead role, and he made the most of it before the injury cut his year short. Syracuse went 3-1 in his four starts, then dropped its final eight games after he went down.
Even with the missed time, Angeli’s numbers still stood out. He finished with 1,317 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes and two interceptions.
His recovery kept him out of the spring game, but he has been fully involved throughout this camp. That matters for Syracuse, especially after an offense that never quite found its footing in Jeff Nixon’s first year as offensive coordinator.
The Orange averaged 20.2 points per game in 2025, which ranked 15th in the ACC and 105th nationally. The production through the air and on the ground was modest too, with Syracuse posting 320.7 total yards per game. That placed the Orange 109th in FBS and 15th in the conference.
Angeli sees real value in having another year in Nixon’s system.
"When you enter into year two with an offensive coordinator you kind of understand the relationship we have and you know what he is going to call in certain situations. He knows what I like on certain calls.
I know what play he is going to do so it kind of allows us to play one step faster from a playcaller to quarterback stand point. So it really is getting on the same page with him when we are at practice or at a two minute drill or third down period, kind of know what he is going to call and what we like so he does a great job with that.
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And Angeli isn’t the only reason Syracuse is feeling better about the offense heading into 2026. The Orange also added running back Ahamd Miller, wide receiver Cole Weaver and tight end Noah Meyers through the transfer portal. Each arrived with a track record of production at their previous school and is expected to give Syracuse a real boost on offense.
The next stretch of camp will keep building that picture. Syracuse has a closed practice on Thursday, then opens things back up to the media on Friday at the Ensley Center. SyracuseRoundtable’s on-scene coverage will continue then, and the Orange still have 13 scheduled practices left in August.
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For Syracuse, the value of a presence like that goes beyond nostalgia. Coughlin has built a long coaching rsum across college football and the NFL, and he has twice been a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The bigger question now is how much of that guidance and encouragement carries over once the practice field clears and the Orange have to turn it into something useful when the season starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]